Patrick Cardona took his lab mix, Brutus, to the rooftop dog park at 12th and Main last Tuesday. The beautiful day at the park ended in tragedy when Brutus jumped on a concrete ledge, accidentally falling to his death five stories down.
"Brutus just came running from behind the train car and he took a leap towards the wall," Cardona said.
He was too far away to grab Brutus before he fell.
"He tried to backpedal with his hind legs but he couldn't grab onto anything or get any traction," he said. "I can hear his scream."
Cardona ran down the five flights of stairs as fast as he could to get to Brutus, but he said it felt like an eternity. He rushed him to the vet, but Brutus soon passed away due to the large amount of internal bleeding.
"He was bleeding. He was in so much pain," Cardona said.
The concrete wall lining the east side of the park measures just 3 feet 8 inches. According to Kristyn Savage, a local trainer and certified applied animal behaviorist, the height of the wall is certainly a hazard.
"I think a lot of breeds could pretty easily jump that ...at minimum it should be six to eight feet tall," Savage said.
"I've had dogs in my home trained and they've jumped over exercise pens, baby gates that are three-and-a-half feet like it's nothing. So obviously that would concern me if that was the only thing protecting my dog from injury," she said.
Cardona wants the safety hazard addressed before other dogs, or people, are hurt.
"He was my copilot. He was my best friend. He was everything to me," he said.
On Wednesday morning, Cardona told 41 Action News that he had reached out to the property owners, the Power & Light District and Cordish – but to no avail. However, after 41 Action News reached out to both companies later Wednesday afternoon, Power & Light sent the following statement:
"The District is in communication with Mr. Cardona. We are very sorry for his loss, however, we do feel it is important to note there is only a limited fenced interior area on the rooftop park that is available for dogs to be off-leash. Any other areas on the rooftop park are not intended for off-leash use."
Cardona said he will continue sending written complaints to management until he feels the rooftop is no longer a danger.
"I just feel that in its current state it's not safe," he said. "It could happen to a child next time. It could happen to anybody."
Brutus would've turned three years old in a few months.
Hear more about this story on 41 Action News at 5 p.m.
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